Power Rangers Eartos Warriors
by oblivian reb
Summary: This is a completely new season of Powers Rangers and is very AU. Many of the characters from different seasons are a part of this story and there are many couplings. The main characters is Jason Scott. Rating may change
1. Prologue Part A

Prologue 1 Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Power Rangers series.

"And now ladies and gentlemen, here's our final gymnast of the final event of the competition. Representing Team USA here is Kimberley Hart!" Sixteen year old Kim heard the applause of the crowd as she stepped up to the balance beam. This was her strongest event, but her hardest routine. If she did well, then the Pan Globals would be hers… depending on the judges, of course. She took a deep breath and stepped up to the beam. She then bowed to the judges and then to the audience. She saw her best friend and her secret crush, Jason, standing next to her coach, cheering her on. Their eyes met and he nodded encouragingly.

Looking into his eyes, Kim just knew that no matter what happened everything would be okay. Even if she lost it'd be okay because he would still be proud of her and that was all that mattered to her. She smiled back at him and then turned away, concentrating on her routine. She didn't remember doing any of her routine, she didn't remember if she got anything right, all she remembered was his eyes, watching her and smiling, full of pride just for her. No matter what had happened, he was proud of her and he was there to support her. That was all she cared about.

Kim had always known that Jason was very special to her, but lately he had started to become even more special to her. She'd been devastated when he'd left for the Peace Conference, but he had promised to keep in touch and had yet to break his promise. He was still her closest and dearest friend.

After he'd left, she'd gotten closer to the others, but it was still Jason who she ran to with her problems. With him gone, she'd been able to become her own person without her knight in shining armor. She knew that Tommy had wanted to be that for her and she felt guilty that she did not feel the same way. She'd learned from Kat and Aisha of his crush on her and that had helped her to realize just how deep her own feelings for Jason ran. She'd confronted Tommy about his feelings and she'd tried her best not to hurt him. Besides, she'd let Kat help him get over her and Tommy had moved on with Kat. They had been dating for nearly a year now and they were becoming serious.

She looked over the crowd once more. All of her friends had shown up to this special event. She hadn't seen them in a year or so. They were no longer the Ninja Rangers, now they were Zeo Rangers and Jason was back on the job as the powerful Gold Ranger. After the Pan Globals, Kim was retiring from gymnastics, even if she got the gold, and she would be joining her friends in Angel Grove. Aisha, Kat, and Kim were going to share an apartment and Kim couldn't wait. Of course, most of the reason why she was so excited was because Jason was going to be there as well. She sighed happily, thinking about the drop dead gorgeous object of more than just her affections.

Kim shifted her focus back to the present. She needed to finish this in order to go home and start dropping hints to Jason that she wanted to be more than just friends. She couldn't wait to do that. All she had to do now was finish this one last routine. If she scored well, she was basically guaranteed the gold.

She looked over the crowd one last time and once more, her eyes were drawn to a pair of very familiar chocolate brown eyes. Looking at those eyes, she knew that no matter what happened this day, everything would be okay. So, she threw herself into her routine and performed her heart out. The entire time, her focus was on those brown eyes staring at her, not once leaving her. She finished, sticking the landing.

She walked off the mat to her coach and friends in a daze. All she could see was his eyes and the smile that he saved just for her. She was completely satisfied with her routine and she could hear her coach congratulating her from a distance. She didn't pay attention to anything else. She focused on him and his smile until she was right in front of him.

"Hey," Kim said, looking up at her best friend. Jason smiled broadly at her.

"Hey yourself. You were awesome Kim. I'm so proud of you." Jason replied, hugging her.

"And now ladies and gentlemen, the score for American gymnast Kim Hart averages up to a grand total of 9.80 making her the gold medalist of this year's Pan Globals!"

"AHHH!" Kim screamed as Jason spun her around in circles, holding her tightly. She could see the cameras flashing, but she didn't care. The gossip column would definitely be full of her tomorrow. Besides, if things went the way she wanted them to, it wouldn't be gossip for very long.

"You did it Kim! I knew you would." Jason whispered in her ear as her put her down. His lips brushed against it and caused her to shiver.

"Thanks Jason. You never doubted me once, did you?" Jason shook his head. "You know that I never could have gotten here without you, right? Thanks soo much. I love you." She said wondering if he knew that she meant it as more than just friends.

"I love you too." Jason replied, kissing her forehead. The cameras flashed once more.

"No Jason I-" Before she could finish, Kim was bombarded by her friends and teammates.

"Hey girl, congratulations. I'm so proud of you." squealed Aisha. "By the way, we didn't interrupt anything, did we? Because if we did, I'm sorry. We tried to hold everyone off as long as possible." Aisha added with Kat who was nodding furiously next to her.

"No," Kim lied shaking her head sadly. "You didn't interrupt anything." Kim said staring at Jason. She sighed. She suddenly didn't feel so great about wining anymore. Maybe they just weren't meant to be together. Kim thought sadly, lost in her own world. Unbeknownst to her, Jason was having similar thoughts. 'I love you so much Kim, more than you'll ever know. It's too bad that you'll never know.' Jason sighed.

"Jason. JASON!" he snapped out of his thoughts. Rocky was waving his hand in front of him.

"You coming or what?" Rocky asked.

"Yea, yeah. I'm coming." he sighed heavily and followed his friends out of the gymnasium.

A FEW MONTHS LATER…

Kim, Kat, and Aisha walked around the shopping mall, having fun. They'd decided to have a female rangers' night out, but in the back of her mind, Kim couldn't help but worry about Jason.

Recently, Jason had been losing weight and he'd been very weak. He seemed to always have a sickly pallor about him. He'd even passed out once after a battle. It had turned out that the powers he was holding were slowly killing him. His body was rejecting it and the rejection was having a terrible effect on him.

When they had found this out, they'd all made him promise not to use his powers anymore until they found a cure. Jason had reluctantly promised. However, Kim was still worried. Kim was scared to death actually. Her greatest fear was that King Mondo would somehow find out about Jason's weakness and set up a trap that would force Jason to use his powers. She wanted to prevent that in any way possible. She could not afford to lose Jason. Anyone else, she'd survive through, but Jason… she'd die as well.

"Kim, Kim!" Kim snapped out of her thoughts. Kat and Aisha were looking at her curiously.

"Are you okay?" Aisha asked. Kim nodded, smiling weakly.

"Yea, I'm just you know, worried about the usual stuff." Kat smiled gently.

"Oh Kim, you know that nothing's going to happen to Jason. You worry too much. Even if something did happen, we would take care of it and make sure that he's okay." Kim nodded.

"I know, but sometimes I wish that I was a ranger again just to make me feel better. No offense to you guys, but I would feel more secure if I was able to do something if something should happen to him, you know what I mean?" The others nodded. "Besides, I can't help it. It's natural instinct to worry about him. If anything ever happened to him because of me…" Kat shook her head.

"Kim, you're hopeless. You should just go tell Jason already that you love him." Kim shook her head furiously.

"Are you kidding me? He'd never feel the same way. We've been friends for so long, if he'd ever felt that way for me, he'd have made his move ages ago."

"Well what about you? You haven't made a move yet. What if he's like you?"

"No way. Jason's not scared of anything." Aisha interrupted her.

"Yes he is. His greatest fear, Kim, is losing you." Kim stopped in her tracks. However, before she could even reply, they were suddenly interrupted by a loud explosion from outside the mall building. The girls exchanged looks before they went into a hidden part of the mall and Kat and Aisha morphed. Then all three of them ran out the mall doors to the vast parking lot.

They came upon a very familiar scene. There were Cogs attacking the area and wreaking havoc, but this time, instead of one monster, there were two of them. One was tall and human like. In a freaky way he sort of looked like a green Edward scissor hands. The other one just looked like a giant Venus Fly Trap gone wrong. It had vines that were twisted and tangled all over it and his head was so much larger than his body.

"Ah, lady rangers, you are just in time. My name is Muscipula, but most of you know me as the Venus Fly Trap. My friend here is called Schizor."

"What do you want?" asked Aisha in an angry voice. She and Kat stood in front of Kim, trying to protect her.

"Well that's very simple: you." Muscipula replied and then Schizor's scissor hands suddenly reached out and grabbed each one of them by the neck. Immediately, the three girls started struggling.

"I knew this would happen, so we planned for this. You see, you two are rangers and therefore protected by the power. Unfortunately, your little friend here is not. So, if I were to attack you guys while my friend Schizor held you guys, your friend would die. How unfortunate. So, you have a choice rangers, you can all surrender, or you can continue fighting and I'll just kill her." Kat and Aisha looked at each other helplessly. There was nothing they could do and help didn't seem to be coming.

"Okay, we give in. Take us." Kat said helplessly.

"Good. This is just perfect. Our plan is just going so well."

"What plan? Your plan to trap the rangers? Well guess what, you don't have the guys." Snapped Kim angrily as her, Kat, and Aisha were being collared by some sort of energy ray and then cuffed by it.

"Actually, I do believe that Dammar, Lucedale, and Saydan took care of them. Oh and you forget, this is not our plan to trap the rangers, it is merely a ranger." Kim gasped.

"No… Jason." Kim began to struggle violently against her bindings.

"Very good little girl. That's exactly what we're doing. Trapping him and then using his own powers to kill him. Imagine that, can you? Oh it'll be so perfect." Muscipula said giddily. With that, Schizor and Muscipula took the three girls and disappeared into thin air.

Meanwhile…

Tommy, Rocky, and Adam were outside at the beach simply messing around. All three of them were in swimming trunks and different colored wife beaters: red, blue, and black respectively. The three of them were engaged in a splashing war when a sudden explosion throughout the ocean sent a tidal wave that took them under the water. They all came up gasping for air and searching for a source.

They found the source in this monster that was literally walking on water towards them. In unison, the three rangers flipped backwards onto the shore and morphed. They stood waiting as the monster came to them.

"Ahhh ranger, so good to finally meet you. Prepared to be defeated."

"What are you freak face?" Rocky snapped angrily. The monster was really ugly. Its face looked like one of a person who was drowning and there was water flowing over it. He had a fin coming out of his back and a long shark like tail behind him. His legs didn't seem very proportional in size to the rest of his body because they were so small. Along his back were smaller ridges that went all the way to his tail. He had ugly warts here and there and two long arms that weren't proportional to his body either. They went from his shoulder all the way to the ground and they dragged a little. It was weird.

"I'm Dammar. Allow me to introduce my brothers: Lucedale," another monster appeared next to him. It was a mess of scales and rough edges all over the place. He was the color of puke and smelled like it. He had wings coming out of his back and tiny horns on his head. His teeth were fanged and he had a tail that looked like a pitchfork that had its teeth bent in. He had one arm that was a giant seashell cone or something and the other looked like some sort of reptile.

"And Saydan." Dammar finished and another monster appeared on the other side of Dammar. This one looked like a mound of dirt on top of rocks. His face wasn't very visible because of the dirt. His arms were gnarly and branched like tress. Hit torso looked like a never ending sandstorm. The sand was moving around and the movement seemed to make his torso. His legs and were stones and rocks of various colors and sizes put together to form a poor excuse for legs. He was altogether an ugly monster.

The two sides attacked simultaneously. The monsters were soon easily overpowered by the rangers and were about to be destroyed when there was a noise and all three rangers were knocked down.

"Now rangers, I'd rethink that decision. Otherwise, you may have to pay the price." a monster said from behind them. They all whirled around.

"What can you do to us? There's three of us and one of you." Adam called boldly.

"Really? How about killing these girls here." he snapped his fingers and immediately another monster appeared with Kim, Aisha, and Kat in tow and in chains, struggling against them.

"Kim. Kat. Aisha. No!" Tommy shouted in shock. Muscipula cackled happily.

"You have a choice rangers. You can either surrender, or watch your friends die."

"Tommy, Rocky, Adam, no! You guys can't give in. It's a trap for-" Kim was cut off by Saydan covering her mouth with something that looked horrifyingly like dirt. She struggled even more furiously against her bonds as she tried to warn them. Kat and Aisha were struggling as well. Still, even in their morphed forms, they were helpless against the powerful bonds. Tommy, Adam, and Rocky looked at each other, assessing their choices. Then they nodded together.

"All right, you win. We surrender." Rocky, then Adam, and then Tommy dropped their weapons.

"Hahaha. Excellent." Muscipula laughed as Schizor chained up the rest of the rangers with the same rays that he had used for the girls, "our plan is going perfectly. Now we need to send a message to our favorite little DYING Gold Ranger." Adam, Rocky, and Tommy gasped in horror. Suddenly, the plan was all too clear to them and they began struggling against their bonds.

"Hmmmm… let's see, I know. Lucedale, take that watch off of the girl." Kim fought against the bonds as the monster took her communicator off of her wrist. Lucedale handed the device to Muscipula. Muscipula took it and wrapped it up in a role of parchment that Dammar had been writing on. Then, Saydan put it in an arrow and handed it to Schizor who in turn aimed it somewhere and it went off, flying.

"There, now we can set up the perfect trap to destroy the Gold Ranger! This is great! His own powers will kill him as he dies trying to save his friends. Then we'll destroy the anguished rangers forever." Dammar exclaimed excitedly. Muscipula nodded in agreement.

"Well boys, I think that it's time we headed to the cavern. After all, in order for it to be a trap, it first needs to be set. Let's go. Schizor, bring the rangers with you. Lucedale, help him!" Once more, with the snap of Muscipula's hand, the monsters disappeared, taking the rangers with them.

Jason sat around in his room, dying of boredom. Ever since he passed out a month ago, the Gold Zeo Ranger had been MIA. He was bored out of his mind and he was sick and tired of sitting around. He wanted to help his friends and he wanted to protect Kim.

Since she had come back from Florida, King Mondo had been doing everything in his power to kidnap her in order to trap the rangers. He knew that his powers could kill him, but he couldn't just sit around here doing nothing. He was really worried about Kim. She was very vulnerable to attack and although Jason trusted his friends, he knew that he'd feel a lot better if he was the one protecting her himself. With him powerless, Kim and even the other rangers were more prone to attack.

He had to do something. He couldn't just sit here anymore. He had to-

'Swish.' An arrow came flying through his open window and buried deep into his bedroom door with a thud. There was a note and something else attached to the arrow. Jason grabbed the note and he felt weak when he recognized the object. It was a communicator, the ones from the original five. He knew whose communicator this was. There was no question about it. He read the note and crushed it in a fist that was shaking with his fury and rage. The message was simple:

'Come and get her.' That was it. The message was loud and clear. He tapped his communicator.

"Alpha, Zordon, what happened? Where are the others? How did they get Kim?"

"Kim, Kat, and Aisha were at the mall shopping when they were attacked. Tommy, Rocky, and Adam were attacked at the beach around the same time. The girls were easily overtaken because Kim couldn't last very long without any powers, so the other girls surrendered in order to save her life. Then the girls were teleported to the guys. There was a trade-off for the girls' lives for the surrender of the rest of the rangers. Now, King Mondo has them all trapped under five monster. Come to the command center and I'll be able to give you a visual of everything." Jason replied his consent and teleported.

Once he reached the command center, he carefully viewed the monsters in the viewing globe, watching their moves and studying them carefully. He tried to pinpoint various weak points and he wondered if he could take on all five of them in this weak state. He shook his head, he didn't have a choice. He had to save the others. He had to save Kim. She couldn't die. He had to die first.

"Alpha, do you have a location on them?" Jason asked getting ready to gear up.

"Searching now Jason." Alpha paused, "I've found all five communicators and I'm assuming that Kim is with them."

"Alpha, can you teleport me to their location?" Jason asked.

"Jason, you know that this is a trap. They're trying to kill you so that the gold powers will be forever lost. You're in no condition to go." Zordon stated warningly.

"I know Zordon, I know. Just take me there. I have to save them. What other choice do we have? Don't worry, I'll be fine." Zordon sighed helplessly.

"Jason, if anything goes wrong… I mean there are five monsters there and only one of you as powerful as you are… if you find that you're in trouble, remember what…" Zordon trailed off.

"Zordon, I know. Trey told me the gold ranger powers have a special attack. He told me how to use it and when to use it. He said that I should use it only when there was no other choice. He also said that I should use it only if I was willing to make an incredible sacrifice. I don't care if I have to give up my legs or my life. Whatever it is, it'll be worth it." 'I'd give up anything to save Kim.'

"Very well then. Alpha, teleport him to their location." Jason stepped into the middle of the command center and morphed. Immediately, he disappeared in a golden beam of powerful energy. When he landed, he found himself in a tall cavern of a small cave.

"Ahh, Gold Ranger. How good of you to join us. We were just getting ready to begin."

"Let them go Muscipula. It's me that you want."

"Exactly. And they," he pointed at Jason's friends who were all bound along the pathway in the cavern starting with Kat and ending with Kim at the end of the cavern, "are our way of getting you. You see Gold Ranger, you have to work your way to them one by one and set them free. However, in order to get to them, you have to pass all of the roadblocks." with the snap of his fingers, the other four monsters and a bunch of Cogs appeared, blocking the way to his friends.

"Bring it on uglies, I'm ready for you." Jason shouted.

"Jason, no!" Tommy shouted. Jason could hear all of his other friends struggling and yelling at him, saying all of the same things, but only one voice was crystal clear in his mind.

"Jason, No! You can't do this. It's a trap. Besides, your powers, they can kill you. You have to leave this place, now! Get some help. Please, don't do this." Kim shouted at him. Even from the distance, Jason could see the tears streaming down her face and his heart broke.

"Kim, don't worry. I can handle it. Don't cry, I'll be fine. You can't just expect me to leave you guys here, especially you. I'll be done in a few minutes." Jason flashed her a smile. Then, he turned his attention to the monsters coming toward him and he attacked. He spun around in a flurry, blocking punches, kicking, blocking a kick, punching, and giving the fight everything that he had. He easily finished off all of the Cogs that had been surrounding Kat. He quickly broke through her chains and set her free.

"Quick, fight the Cogs around here. I'll work on freeing the others." Kat nodded her head. Jason turned his back to her and started heading towards the next group of Cogs that were with the monster Dammar. The two met in a clash of weapons that echoed across the cave. Jason swung his sword at the monster with all of his might and while the monster was busy blocking his attack, Jason he quickly twirled around and slashed his sword across the torso of the monster. Dammar growled and then grabbed Jason's neck with his super-long arms.

Kat saw this and quickly tried to make her way to him when Jason called out:

"No! Forget about me. Go free the others. I can take care of these guys. Trust me Kat." Kat reluctantly nodded her head and ran up to Adam. She quickly broke his chains and then set about fighting their way through, trying to help the others. After some time, they managed to free everyone but Kim, who was heavily guarded by many Cogs and the two monsters Muscipula and Saydan. Jason had already managed to render Dammar helpless and was now fighting Lucedale, Schizor, and some Cogs. The others were now futilely trying to get to Kim, but they were being severely overwhelmed by the Cogs and the two monsters.

From his vantage point, Jason saw that his friends needed him and he began to debate his choices. Should he use the power that Trey had given him? Could he make some sort of sacrifice? He shook his head. What was he doing? There was no question to ask. He would rather die than see his friends die or be endangered in any way. With that in mind, he resolved himself to his decision. Jason took one last good look at Kim and she seemed to realize what he was about to do.

"NO! Jason, not now! Don't use it now! Don't use it ever. I'm not worth it. Jason!" Kim cried out, tears streaming down her face. Jason turned and broke free from the monsters. Then, he went to the center of the cavern and then did a series of hand motions so fast that they were all a blur. The motions ended with his hands forming a triangle in front of his chest.

"Gold Ranger, special attack power up!" he cried. Everyone watched as Jason began to glow with energy that was focused on the triangle that his hands formed.

"**Elive Thil Gnigle Aras**!" Jason shouted and then shot his hands straight up. Everyone watched as he screamed in pain and then a bright light shot out from his eyes causing his helmet to explode. The bright light spread across the room and all of the Cogs and monsters began to scream. The light hit them and they were instantly vaporized. When the light disappeared, Jason fell to the ground, his eyes open, but not seeing anything. Blood, was trickling from his nose, his mouth, and the side of his head.

"JASON!" screamed Kim as she struggled with her chains.

Tommy quickly let the struggling Kim loose while the others all ran to Jason. Kim ran all the way to Jason and fell down at his body. She carefully cradled his body in her arms, sobbing.

"Jason. Wake up. Wake up! No!" Kim cried, rocking back and forth. Her worse nightmare was coming true. Jason died saving her life.

"Kim, Kim, it's okay. He's still alive. His pulse is weak, but it's there." Tommy said reassuringly. Kim said nothing, completely numb. Rocky and Adam gently took Jason from her and they carefully held him as they teleported to the Command Center.

"Kim," Aisha said gently touching her shoulder, "let's go. You want to see if Jason's all right, don't you? Let us take you there." Kim silently got up and then they went on to teleport her to the Command Center.

_'Never again,' _she thought, _'never again. I'm never going to put myself in that kind of position again. No one I love is ever going to get hurt because of me. I won't allow it, especially if it's Jason. I'm not going to be vulnerable ever again. Never again.'_ Kim silently vowed to herself. '_I swear it.'_


	2. Prologue Part B

PROLOGUE PART 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Two and a half years later…

Kim Hart carefully guided her best friend and the love of her life through the maze of people that was the shopping mall. She smiled up at him as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to his side.

It had been two and a half years since the terrible incident and now that things had settled down, everything seemed to be almost normal. None of them were power rangers any longer and although they missed their powers, they were content to have the freedom to live normal lives. They had been through so much…

Kim still remembered every single detail of that fateful day, the day where Jason had nearly died. He had made an incredible sacrifice in order to save them… to save her. She remembered sitting next to his bed in the infirmary in the Command Center and crying her heart out. She never left his bedside except to wash up and change. He was in a coma for a month and a half and that had been a terrible time for her. Her favorite part of it was of course the awaited wakening of Jason.

_Flashback_

Kim sat as close as possible to Jason's bed, searching his face carefully for any sign of life. It had been six weeks, two days, twelve hours, thirty-six minutes, and forty-eight seconds since he had fallen into a coma. Kim had never left his side. Despite the efforts of Tommy, Kat and all of the others, she refused to leave Jason, not when he needed her most… right here, by his side.

Deep down inside, Kim knew that another reason why she couldn't leave his side was because that deep-down inside, she was very guilt-ridden about what had happened. It was her fault that this had happened to him. It was her fault that he was… she couldn't even say it.

How would Jason react when he discovered the truth? Would he hate her? No, she couldn't bear that, but then again, his anger and hatred would be easier to bear than his trust and love.

She sighed heavily as she pondered that word. Love. Kim knew that she was in love with him. There was no denying it. Her only question was if Jason felt the same. However, it didn't matter to her anymore. After this incident, she'd realized the importance of saying things to people when you want to. If Jason had died… then he'd never know of her feelings for him and she would never know his. She did not want to spend the rest of her life agonizing over the "what ifs" and the "if onlys." She sighed once more and steeled herself as tears streamed down her face.

She couldn't bear to look at Jason anymore, yet she couldn't look away for fear that he would do something or something would happen to him and she'd miss it because she wasn't there. His face was completely swollen, especially around his eyes. His eyes were wrapped in bandages in order to protect them from the light and give them time to heal. His body had bruises and cuts that would leave scars, but no major injuries. His head had received the most trauma. He had a large bump where he hit it against the cave floor and his eyes were… they were sightless.

The power that Jason had used had required a sacrifice and that sacrifice had been his eyes. The tissue around that area had been horribly burned, and it would leave scars, but not enough to entirely disfigure him. Zordon and Alpha had managed to do at least that. She slowly reached out and stroked the fuzz that was his hair. Most of it had been burned away and the rest had been shaved off in order to even it out. However, in the last month and a half, it had grown out a bit, giving him a buzz.

"Oh Jason," Kim said as another tear dripped down her cheek, "you have to wake up. Please. If not for me, at least for your friends, your family. You don't understand how much we all need you… how much I need you. I know that you can hear me, so I'm just going to say it flat out." Kim paused and took a deep breath.

"I-I love you, you know? I have ever since the day that I met you. You were the popular, good-looking, jock that everyone liked and I was the new girl in town. Trini had introduced us to each other and we became such good friends. Back then I always thought that you liked Trini, but then you made me realize that Trini and Billy loved each other. It left me wondering about you. I never told you because I never thought you'd fell the same, ever." Kim laughed bitterly.

"I even tried to make you jealous. I took up cheerleading and I dated guys. Then Tommy came into the picture. He was your rival at the tournament, and so I said he was cute and went on and on, hoping to get a reaction out of you. Instead of becoming jealous, you kept pushing me to him. Still, Tommy knew the truth, so he never pursued a relationship with me. Now he has Kat and I'm still left with no one and nothing. I really wish that you'd help me out here. I love you so much." Kim looked down at him to see if he had any reaction to what she was saying.

"Jason, I can't keep going like this forever. You have to wake up. I love you so much. You can't die on me. No! You can't even stay in this state. You have to wake up. What am I going to do without you? You're my rock when I'm lost, my strength when I'm feeling weak, you're always there for me no matter what and you always pick me up when I fall down. I can't live without that Jason. It's one of the many reasons why I love you." Still no reaction, she sighed.

"I love you for your kindness that you're willing to give to everyone, your humble nature, you never brag. You're always the first one to forgive someone when they do something wrong and you're the first to ask forgiveness when you do something wrong. You're also the first to congratulate someone when they do well, even if they do it better than you. You're such a great friend. I need you to be here, like you've always been." Kim choked back a sob.

"Jason, I need you to be there for our graduation, when I go off to college, when I graduate, when I start out on my life as an educated adult… I need you to be there every step of the way. I want you to be there. I'm nothing without you. I'm not even me. And I especially want you to be there when I marry my love, my soul mate, my destiny because I know that you are my destiny. You have to be. I mean, I don't understand how I could possibly love you this much if it's not meant to be. So you see, you have to wake up. Jason, you're the only guy for me. There's no one else that I want." By now, Kim was sobbing with tears streaming down her face. She put her head down on her arms on the bed, retching in sobs.

Suddenly, she felt something stroke her hair. She quickly looked up to see Jason looking in her direction and smiling at her.

"Don't cry baby, don't cry. You have no idea how much it hurts me." Kim broke out into a big smile. Then, she threw her arms around him and gave him a huge hug which he returned.

"Uh Kim, about everything that you said-" Kim pulled back, "You heard all of it?" she asked somewhat embarrassed now and definitely nervous. Jason nodded his head.

"Yea. And I just want to say," Jason paused and Kim waited for heart break, "I love you too; so much more than you can even think is possible." Kim's heart burst with joy and tears flooded her eyes. She threw her arms around him again, but this time, she also kissed him quickly on the lips. Jason tried to hold her for longer, but he couldn't find her through the bandages.

"Uh Kim, why are these bandages on my eyes? Is there something wrong with them?" Kim's mood immediately dampened. She didn't know how to tell him, nor did she know how he'd react. She really didn't want him to blame her, but then again she did. How was she supposed to explain this?"

"Uh Jason, well the thing is…"

_End Flashback_

For a while, Jason had been silent and different, but after some time, he had managed to return to normal. During that time, he never once blamed her and he made it very clear that he didn't. For that, Kim would always love him. Still, he and they would forever remember that day at least in their memories and also every time they looked at his face and his eyes. He had a scar across the ridge of his nose that ran diagonally from the left to the right. It started above his eyes and ended just below it. Also, when he had used his powers, he had been forever marked by them, or at least that's how Alpha and Zordon explained it.

Jason had these eyes, they were, well, to her they were even more beautiful now than ever. His eyes were as large as always, but now their color was different… or should she say colors? His eyes used to be this dark brown, but now they were gold, gold with a glowing white pupil. It was the most amazing thing. It was as if his powers had tainted.

It took a while for Jason to adjust to his new situation, but he had managed. After he was sort of back to normal, their relationship had blossomed and was still blossoming to this day… the anniversary of the day when they had first met. Both Kim and Jason had implanted that day into their minds. Jason was supposed to be picking her up at around three for a special day of love and romance. As Kim had always known, Jason was the one she had been looking for. She couldn't wait for their date tonight.

During the same time…somewhere aboard the Astro Mega Ship

T.J. stood by a window in the living room deck of the ship, silently brooding. It had been nearly six months since they had last seen the Phantom and still Cassie was pining for him. It wasn't fair, T.J. thought bitterly. She didn't even know who he was. She had never even seen his face. They had only seen each other four or five times whereas she had known T.J. for over two years now and still she preferred the mysterious Phantom Ranger over him. He simply didn't understand.

Then again, he did. He had fallen for Cassie the moment he had seen her. She had been this beautiful, bold little girl who was singing her heart out to one of her favorite songs. She had not cared about what others thought and she had let herself be taken away by the music. T.J. had admired that and he had fallen very hard. When she had followed him off the bus to check out the explosion… that had been the clincher. T.J. had been caught hook, line and sinker.

Still, T.J. didn't think that he could go on like this any longer. It had been two years now of waiting, watching, and hinting. He was more than ready to give up. After all, it didn't seem like Cassie was going to get it, no matter how many hints he dropped her. He sighed maybe it was for the best. His friends all encouraged him to tell her, but he knew that they knew that his feelings for Cassie were quite obvious. Her obliviousness never ceased to amaze them.

Ever since Phantom had come into the picture, T.J. had become more and more depressed. If he just let her go, then maybe he wouldn't be so down so much. He wouldn't have heartbreak anymore either, at least not from her. The pain would gradually fade with time. Time really did heal all wounds. Besides, he could tell that she was happy waiting for the Phantom. She smiled genuinely when he was mentioned and she thought about him all the time.

Yes, this was for the best. After all, there would be no more pain from rejection and he would be free from this chain of obsession that he had for her. He could do this. He would do this. Yes, he was going to do it. Time was up; he was going to move on.

From now on, T.J. was no longer going to try to tell Cassie that he loved her, from now on; he would live completely satisfied as her friend. He was not going to go through this anymore. She was happy, and therefore, so was he. He was through, done, finished.

Meanwhile…

Andros stared happily at the girl of his dreams. Who would have ever though that this beautiful girl could ever love him? He didn't deserve her, yet somehow, she believed that he did. Because she did, that was just enough for him to keep her in his arms, to not let her go to someone far more worthy.

Then again, even if he did try, he doubted that he would have the strength and courage to do that. He also doubted that there was any guy out there who was worthy of her. That was why he'd have to spend the rest of his life trying to be worthy… that is if she accepted his proposal.

His heart thudded quickly in his chest. Tonight was the night. He was going to propose to Ashley. They had only been together for a little over a year, but he knew that she was the one and he knew that he was hers. They would be happy together and he couldn't wait to start their lives together… that is, if she said yes.

He didn't know why he was so nervous. The ring was burning a hole in his pocket and he could feel its heavy weight in his hand. He had gotten her an 18K white gold ring with a round cut diamond as the center piece and six little G color diamonds frame it (3 on each side). The six small diamonds were a total of .42 K. He really hoped that she liked it… that is after she said yes, at least he hoped so. He had spent all of his savings on it.

They had been together for only six months, but he knew that there was no one else for him. After all, she had taught him everything thing important. The most important thing he had learned was from watching "Moulin Rouge" with her. The main character had said "The most important thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return." Ashley had been brought to tears after watching that movie and Andros had suddenly felt the urge to feel the way Christian had for Satine and have his own Satine who'd love him. He had wanted his Satine to be Ashley. Now, here they were, the most important night of his life at this point.

He had made her reserve their six month anniversary just for him. He had called in a few favors for this day. First, he let her sleep in and cooked her breakfast. Her favorite breakfast was Belgian waffles with strawberries, butter, and syrup, and freshly squeezed orange juice. He had served it to her in bed and then, he had done the dishes. After that, he had told her that he was leaving but instructions would follow.

After he left, he had a dozen red roses delivered to her a little before mid-morning. A little after mid-morning, he had sent her a box of her favorite chocolate. Next, he had lunch delivered to her as well. Cassie had made sure that Ashley had stayed home and not eaten anything. Then, he had called her in the afternoon to "remind" her of her appointment at the Day Spa, manicurist, masseuse and the time and place for that afternoon.

Then, he had Cassie put the dress that he'd bought her in Ashley's room aboard the Mega Ship with a note that she's to wear it to dinner. The note had told her what time to be ready by and that her driver would pick her up promptly at that time. T.J. had been waiting for Ashley in a limousine after she had landed on Earth. He had driven her to the restaurant and a host had just seated her. He was not waiting at the table, but he was currently hiding nearby. In a minute, a waiter was going to deliver a note to her that read, "Say 'yes.' "

The moment was here. Andros got up from his hiding spot and watched as the waiter handed her the note. He saw her confusion as she read it and he then walked towards her with the ring box in hand and opened. When he reached her, he got down on one knee and said:

"Ashley, you have been- are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You taught me so much. You taught me that people were okay, that it was okay to have friends and that it was okay to love. But most importantly, you taught me that the most important thing I'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return. You're always so cheerful and full of life and I'd like to be that way too. You're so full of surprises and you never cease to amaze me. You are so beautiful and so much more amazing than I am. So, here I am a wretched little lovesick puppy who is asking you to- no begging you to marry me. Ashley Lynn Hammond, will you make me the happiest man alive and give me the honor of marrying me?" Andros asked, looking up at his dream girl. Ashley had tears streaming down her face and she was smiling.

"Get up." Andros looked at her confused, but did as he was told.

"You idiot. I thought you'd never ask. In fact, you didn't even have to." She threw her arms around him and then gave him the biggest kiss of his life. When they pulled away, Andros said breathlessly:

"So does that mean yes?" Ashley smacked his chest, giggling. He picked her up and twirled her around as the other customers in the restaurant applauded the little scene.

"I love you Ashley." Andros said smiling so widely that his face was practically ripping.

"I love you too Andros, so much. I think that you just made me the happiest girl alive."

"Well love, I know that you've just made me the happiest man alive." Andros said and they kissed again.


	3. Prologue Part C

PROLOGUE PART 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Somewhere deep in space, on Terra Venture…

Leo Corbett walked through the hall of the dorm building, lost in thought. It had been six months since they had their last battle as rangers and life was… confusing. Yea, that was the right word. He had been mourning Kendrix for months and then she had suddenly returned from the dead… just like his brother. He entered his room and sat in a chair tiredly, not even bothering to close the door.

When Leo had first met Kendrix, he had immediately known that there was something there. Sparks had flown when they had collided into each other. Ever since then, he had been harboring feelings for her that were similar to a crush. When she had died, he had felt worse than when his brother had died. It was then that he had realized the extent of his feelings for Kendrix. He knew that she was for him.

Still, he wasn't exactly sure of her feelings. When she first came back, he had given her a lot of space, figuring that she needed it. He thought that she needed time to get used to being back and adjusting to it. And if he was honest with himself, he had been somewhat weirded out as well. They had spent months knowing that Kendrix was dead and then suddenly, she was alive again. Just when he was getting used to her being dead, she had come back. He didn't know how to act around her. He had needed time to get used to having her back again. He knew that it would most likely hurt her, and he hated himself for it.

Still, he couldn't help it. He needed time to adjust or else he would have been very weird around her and he knew that would hurt her more. Still, she had been hurt. No matter which choice he made, she would have been hurt, so he went for the one that he figured was better: he distanced himself from her and he gave her time. He still didn't know if it was the best choice, but everything had turned out well in the end. He remembered the day she approached him about his avoidance of her.

_Flashback_

Leo was sitting around in his room, his mind full of thoughts. Kendrix had been back for a month and everyone else seemed to be fine so why was he still so awkward around her? He simply didn't understand. It didn't make any sense to him. It had been four weeks and yet he still couldn't get used to the fact that Kendrix was alive. Even Karone had warmed up to the girl and now they were really close. He just didn't understand. He sighed, placing his head in his hands.

"Leo?" It was the last person that he wanted to see at this moment.

"Oh hey, Kendrix. What's up?" Leo asked somewhat awkwardly.

"Well, the others all went out and I was wondering if you wanted to do something."

"Oh, I would love to, but I can't. You see, I have to go do this… thing." Leo stammered out.

"Oh, I see. Okay then." Kendrix said a little hurt and confused.

"Well, I'll see you later." Leo said briskly and walked off with a sigh of relief. He was going to have to stop avoiding her soon. It was getting really obvious. However, as soon as he left his room, she came out after him.

"Leo, Leo. I um, I have to ask you something. Is, is there something wrong? Because I mean, ever since I uh came back, you've been doing nothing but avoiding me. Did I do something wrong? I mean, what's wrong? We used to be so close Leo. What happened?" Kendrix said sadly.

"What happened? Kendrix, you died. I saw you die. It took me months to accept that and just when I finally started to, you were suddenly back in our lives. Do you know how weird it is to see a dead person alive and walking again?" He paused as he noticed the tears forming in her eyes, "I just need time that's all. Once I'm adjusted, everything will be back to normal. I'm really sorry." Kendrix nodded.

"You know, that's the most you've said to me since I've been back."

"Really?" Leo asked chuckling. Kendrix nodded, smiling at him.

"Seriously. You think that I wouldn't notice your avoidance of me? Oh course I would. I mean we were so close previously. Why can't we be now?" Kendrix asked.

"We will. We will be. I'll make sure of that." Leo promised reassuringly. Kendrix looked up at him and then she suddenly threw her arms around him.

"I missed you so much." Kendrix whispered, burying her head into his chest. Leo stood frozen for a moment before he began to gently stroke her back.

"I know, I know. I missed you too." Leo said softly. And they stayed in that position, just holding each other for some time.

_End Flashback_

Ever since then, the relationship between himself and Kendrix had been a lot better than it had ever been since her return. He was extremely happy to have her back and she back happy to be back. Now only the matter of what sort of relationship that they would have was left. Currently, they were just friends, but Leo would like to be more with her. He also thought that she liked him too… at least, that's what Maya, Damon, and the others would say. He occasionally dropped hints to her and he thought that she got them because she would often blush or smile when he gave her hints and she sometimes even gave hints back.

True, he could be reading too far into it, but he somehow didn't think so. At least, he didn't like to think that way. He truly believed it was only a matter of time before they got together. His only problem was finding the right time. He wanted everything to be perfect, because that's what she was: perfect.

"Hey Leo," Karone stated as she entered the room, interrupting his thoughts, "guess what?"

"Uh, I don't know? It must be something really good from the way that you're smiling."

"My brother and my boyfriend are coming for a visit. They're coming in the Astro Mega Ship so Cassie, T.J., and Ashley are coming too!" Karone squealed excitedly.

"Really? That's great. You'll get to see your boyfriend again and Cassie and Kendrix will finally get to see each other again. I know that it will probably help Cassie with the guilt that she has felt about the incident. Wow, this is great news. We have to have a party for them or something."

"Oh, I have the best idea. Andros proposed to Ashley and she said yes. We should have a party for them! This is going to be awesome!" Karone clapped her hands together in joy.

"Hey Leo," Kendrix said as she popped her head in the doorway, "I was wondering if you wanted to come do something with me. I'm bored. Please?"

"Yea, sure Kendrix, I'll be right our in a second." Leo said with a grin.

"Great. I'll meet you in the garage." Leo nodded and Kendrix disappeared down the hall. As he turned to look at Karone, he noticed that she was smiling slyly at him.

"What?" Leo asked, perplexed.

"You know, you really should tell her. I mean, it's been six months since she came back and over a year since she 'died.' You've had feelings for her since you guys met. Just tell her already."

"I know, I will. I'm just waiting." Leo explained.

"Waiting? Waiting for what? You like, no love her, she loves you, what's there to wait for?"

"I'm just waiting for the perfect moment to tell her. She's perfect, so I want the moment that I ask her out to be perfect too." Leo stated. Karone smiled.

"Oh Leo, that's really sweet, but you might want to take my advice. Kendrix may love you, but she probably won't wait around forever, you know? She may take your waiting the wrong way, you know? Besides, she loves you. No matter how or when you do it, to her, it'll be perfect because it's you that's asking." Karone said wisely and then she patted Leo's knee and left the dorm.

Leo sat there for a moment, pondering Karone's words.

"You know, she's right Leo. You shouldn't wait too long. Kendrix is patient, but not that patient. Besides, you love the girl and she loves you. There really isn't anything else to wait for. Yea. That' right. What am I waiting for? All right, I will ask Kendrix out. I will. Just maybe not today." With that reassurance of himself, Leo went out the door to meet Kendrix.

Somewhere in the city of Wes and Jen a little later…

Wes stood nervously at the altar. Today was the big day. He was leaving the bachelor world for good on this very day. He was going to marry the love of his life. He couldn't wait! He nervously glanced at his best man, Lucas. Lucas smiled reassuringly at him, patting his pocket.

This had to be the greatest day of his life. All of his friends and family had gathered for this small wedding. After all, Jen didn't really have many people to invite. Only their other teammates on the time force team and maybe one or two other people. He was so thankful that they had all decided to come back. It was so much better this way. They all had lives here now.

He shook himself out of his thoughts as the wedding march began. The flower girl, the ring boy, everyone walked in slowly, but to Wes, it all seemed like a blur. Then, it was Jen's turn. She came in at her stand-in for her father's arm and she took his breath away. She smiled brilliantly at him and he knew that he had never seen anything so beautiful.

Her dress was white, of course. It was long and seemed to flow over her body. It wasn't anything fancy for Jen liked things to be simple and yet it made her even more radiant. One of the many reasons why he loved her was because she didn't like to show off her beauty with tight clothes or make-up. However, for this occasion, Wes had insisted upon make-up just so he could see her with it on.

She had finally reached him and he lovingly took her from the arm of the man who was her stand-in, his father. It was odd that he was taking her away from his own father, Jen had insisted that she didn't want anyone else to do it, so he had no choice but to follow along with it. After all, he could never deny her anything, especially when she smiled at him the way she did.

They were now facing the priest, holding hands. Wes felt reassured by her touch and he knew that nothing could make this day terrible for him. He was finally getting married to the girl of his dreams. He barely heard the words that the priest was saying until it came time for them to say their vows. They had both decided to say their own vows and Jen was going first:

"Wes, the day that I met you was the happiest day of my life, the second. Today is the happiest day of my life because it's the day that I got married to you. It's the start of what I know is gong to be the happiest days of my life. I've been looking forward to this day for so long now. I love you so much and to think that in a few minutes, we'll have our first kiss as husband and wife. I can't wait to make many more first moments with you as husband and wife. I love you so much and like I've said before, no matter what other people say, I love you, Wesley Collins, and I'll always love you." Wes smiled widely. Jen always knew what to say in order to reassure him. When her supposedly dead fiancé, Alex, had come back, Wes had begun to doubt his and Jen's relationship very much. She was once more reading his mind and reassuring him about her love for him just like she had done every time he began to feel doubt.

"Jen, wow, look where life has brought us. I never thought that I'd come here so early, nor did I think that I'd ever get this lucky. Here I am getting married to the most beautiful woman in the world. This is the happiest day of my life because this is our wedding day, the day we'll celebrate everyday of the week, but even more so on this day once a year. This is the first day of the rest of our lives together."

"Don't you just love that word? Together. We've been through so much and I know that nothing can stop us, not even death because even in death, I know that we will be forever in each other's hearts. I mean not even time could stop us, so how can anything else?"

"Ever since I met you I've looked forward to tomorrow because I know that I have a future and that future is right here, being right next to you and with you. I know these words aren't the best, but they're from my heart and I hope that you'll accept them. I love you soooo much. Happy wedding day." Wes finished with a flourish as a tear slipped down his cheek. Then they exchanged their simple gold wedding bands, placing them on the other's finger.

"Does anyone in this room have any objection to the marriage of these two beings in holy matrimony?" not one word was spoken, "well then, by the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride Mr. Collins." Wes did not need to be told twice. He kissed Jen passionately and when they broke apart, they walked out of the church together under the explosions of confetti and in the midst of tears and thunderous applause.

Kim and Jason were walking along the beaches of Angel Grove, California. It was a bright and beautiful day and everyone was taking advantage of it by staying outside basking in the sun. Little did each and every person know that soon enough, their bright and beautiful morning would turn into something more. Nobody seemed to notice the thickness in the air, the thickness of disaster.

Kim smiled happily up at Jason as he held onto her hand tightly. She couldn't help but smile at his jealous tendencies; they were just so cute. Especially when he got all possessive of her. He knew just when to stop in order to keep her from getting mad and his insecurities showed that he wasn't perfect, she liked that. They were at the beach and therefore in their swim gear. Jason, knowing how beautiful Kim was could feel all of the stares of others guys as they walked down to the sand. He self-consciously pulled her closer to his side as she guided him down to a spot in the sand.

Kim was equally aware of the stares that she was getting from guys, but she was even more aware of the drooling stares of all the girls at the beach whose eyes all seemed to be glued onto her boyfriend. She smiled therefore, when he pulled her closer in a possessive manner.

"You know Jason; you don't have to be so self-conscious." Kim stated as they began to settle down at a spot. Jason glanced in her direction and she wished that he could take off his sunglasses so that she could see his eyes. But that wasn't possible, people would freak, but no matter what, Kim thought that they were beautiful.

"Besides, everyone knows that I'm here with the hottest guy in the universe." Kim finished, turning in his arms to face him. Jason grinned and bent his head as Kim reached up to meet his lips. They kissed for eternity, wrapped up in a world that consisted only of the two of them. This was the world that Kim loved the most. This was the only world that she ever wanted to be in.

Eventually, Kim became aware of all of the stares and jealous looks that they were getting and with a sigh, she pulled away, but he followed her with his lips and captured them again. She smiled as he kissed her, wondering how he always managed that when he was blind. Then, Jason deepened the kiss by slipping his tongue into her mouth and Kim was once more lost in just him and nothing else.

Then, someone groaned, ruining the moment. They broke away from each other, but he still held her close in his arms and she kept her arms around his neck. She pressed into him and looked up at him as he looked toward her.

"Why don't we go somewhere a little more private? I don't want to be a show or anything." Kim told Jason, meaning the water. Jason shifted uneasily.

"Don't worry Jason, I'll be with you the entire time, I won't let anything happen to you." Kim said reassuringly. Jason looked in her direction and she was once more reminded that he could merely hear her and guess where she was and she was saddened with guilt.

"Okay, I trust you Kim, always." Jason replied with a grin. Kim smiled back and pulled him into the water for some fun and more importantly, for some privacy.

Some time later, Jason and Kim were walking back home from the beach, now wearing street clothes. Once again, Kim was guiding him, but it didn't really look that way because he held her close to his side, she had her arm wrapped around him, and she kept whispering in his ear and he'd either answer back or nod. Instead, they looked like a really cute couple that was lost in its own world.

As they walked down the streets of downtown Angel Grove, they passed by a store that caught Kim's eye. It was a music store across the street and a little ways away from them. It was selling the latest models of guitars and other such instruments. There was a huge sign that read half-price sale and Kim instantly knew what to get Jason for his upcoming birthday. She paused to get a good look at the store across the street and Jason noticed.

"You know Kim, if there's a store that you want to stop at, you could always just tell me and go, you know?" Kim looked up at him in shock.

"Come on Kim, I know that you want to go. Go. In fact, I think that you should cross the street now, there are no cars." Kim stared at him, bewildered.

"How do you-" "Do that? It comes naturally, with time." Jason interrupted, "now go." Kim looked at him uncertainly. She didn't like the idea of leaving him alone.

"Kim, just go. I'll be fine. I'll sit right here, on this bench. Don't worry. I may be blind, but I am in no way helpless. I can still take care of myself. Go. Indulge yourself for a while." Kim grinned and gave him a big wet kiss. Jason grinned right back.

"Okay Jason, stay here, I'll be back before you know it." Jason merely gestured for her to go. Kim did as she was told and crossed the street. She walked down the street until she reached the entrance. Then, she entered the store and she found herself completely lost. She had never seen so many instruments in her life, ever. This place would definitely be heaven for Jason. She looked around, turning in a full circle to take it all in, and then… she saw it. There it was the newest Gibson electric guitar with the newest amp.

The Gibson guitar had the warp-board, it came with a soft case and a hard one, and with all of the little effect knobby thingies that Kim could never really figure out. The amp was amazing with its sound system that could record melodies, had three inputs, could give you a bass, drum, and even a keyboard support/ back up, and it had various popular tunes and melodies imprinted into its memory so that one could hear it and learn how to play it. She knew that this was Jason's dream set, right there. She just had to get it for him. She turned to look for a cashier-

Suddenly, the ground beneath her started rumbling and as the rumbling grew, shaking was added. Kim saw instruments begin to fall and topple over and she knew that she had to get out of there. There was no need to ask what was going on, she knew: it was an earthquake. She carefully, but quickly made her way through the instrument dominoes and the panicking crowds of people. She finally made it outside and she paused to take a breath. Then, she remembered.

"Jason. Jason!" Kim shot up from her position, looking for Jason. She saw him looking around blindly, his hands out in front of him. She had to get to him, he looked so scared. She looked to the street and she saw that there were many cars piled up all over the place along with people, among other things.

The rumbling was much greater now and Kim had a hard time maintaining her balance. She moved to cross the street when there was huge rumble and the earth split open, crating a large crack straight down the middle of the main street of downtown Angel Grove. Many cars and other things fell into the crack, too startled to react. Kim ran to the crack, it was too wide, there was no way that she could jump it. She searched the other side for Jason.

"Jason!" Kim shouted at him. He turned looking for her.

"Kim!" Jason replied. There was so much fear in his voice. Kim then felt the same feeling of dread that she had when they had all been captured and Jason had saved them.

"Jason," she called out to him, "we have to meet. There's a crack in the middle of the street, don't go there. The ocean's to our right, so we have to move left. Maybe there's an end or some area where I can jump over. So let's go, I'll follow you." Jason nodded and did as he was told. Kim followed him from across the street, her heart pounding every step of the way. She watched Jason, carefully making sure that he was fine and that he would make it. Their progress was slow, but they were still overcoming the steady rumbling. The sky was getting dark now.

The rumbling was now growing exponentially and Kim could see buildings and statues all come crashing down. She was very afraid now. Would Jason be able to make it? Kim couldn't make him out any longer with all of the dust and the rubble and other things blocking her path. Finally, she reached a spot where the crack was just about narrow enough for her to jump over. Kim didn't even think and she used her gymnastics trained legs to make the jump. Her sole thought was Jason and his safety.

When she landed, she quickly ran in the direction that he was supposed to go. She stumbled many times, but she didn't stop. She had to find him. There was lightning flying across the sky

"Jason!" Kim called out as loud as possible. The rumbling overpowered her voice, "Jason!" She looked around, hoping to see of hear him. There was nothing.

"Kim!" Kim heard his voice in the distance. Kim ran towards it. She found him standing near a lamppost, holding onto it for balance. As the rumbling grew, Kim saw in slow motion as the lamppost began to fall. Clouds were forming over one spot and the lightning seemed to be concentrated there as well.

"Jason!" Kim screamed, "Look out!" Jason turned and moved out of the way just in time as the lamppost came tumbling down. Then, Kim watched in horror as a building behind him began to crumble as well. Before Kim could react, the building came down. As it came down, Kim noticed that the clouds and lightning all seemed to be focused on the area above Jason. She saw a hole suddenly appear in the sky and it seemed to be moving towards Jason. Just as it seemed to swallow him up, the rest of the building came tumbling down upon him. Then, with a blink of an eye, the lightning and the clouds disappeared and the rumbling stopped.

Kim scrambled over the rubble, looking for Jason. She had no idea what had happened just now, but she knew that it was something weird and something that had to do with Jason. She struggled to remove rubble, trying to find his body or any glimpse of him.

"Jason," Kim cried frantically, "Jason, where are you?" Somehow, Kim knew that it was futile to call him. Still, she kept digging and then, she found it: a pair of sunglasses. With trembling hands, she picked them up and turned them over. There, along the inside right leg read: Jason Lee Scott. Kim scrambled through the rubble, looking for him. She finally reached the ground and she found nothing. Holding the sunglasses in her hands, she broke down into sobs.

Somewhere, on a distant planet…

"Alpha, what just happened? Did they get the children?" Zordon asked. Alpha shook his head.

"Ay yi yi yi, Zordon, I'm afraid that there has been some complications. The sacred order was in the midst of calling him at the most sacred place, when they were overrun by barbarians. The children came, but who knows where exactly they landed. The Barbarians slaughtered the members of the sacred order. We're not sure who has survived, if any." Zordon had a solemn look on his face.

"So, it seems that the series of natural disasters on Earth was nearly in vain. Let's hope that the children are found or revealed very soon. In the meantime, we must finish developing the new powers. We have been at this for five years. The warriors must be chosen as soon as possible. If we don't stop these barbarians of this planet, who knows what will happen to the universe. We must meet with the Alliance once more. They must be informed of these happenings, these very unfortunate happenings."

"Yes Zordon, we must inform King Zacharias and the rest of the Alliance of this misfortune."

"Still, there is hope. If we develop these new powers in time, there is still hope for this planet."

"Yes, we must work quickly now. The Barbarian ranks are growing as ours are dwindling. There are few free nations left. Hope is diminishing in this place."

"It is indeed. Come; let us get back to work."

Jason woke up not knowing where he was or what had just happened. His head was throbbing and he couldn't really see. He could see the outlines of things, but all of the objects were multi-colored with red, green, yellow, orange, it was very confusing. He then remembered that for some reason, he was blind, at least, he was supposed to be. He had no idea where this heat vision thing had appeared from or how he had become blind.

He looked around and saw that he was in the middle of a battleground. Dead bodies were strewn everywhere. Smoke was in the skies and he could smell the death and destruction that had just been caused here. He slowly got up when suddenly; somebody grabbed him by the neck. He kicked and struggled, but then a knife was placed on his neck.

"Well, well, what have we here?" asked as masculine voice. Jason nearly gagged. The man smelled really bad and his breath reeked.

"Man, you need to take a bath. You stink!" Jason said waving his hand in front of his nose.

"What did you say you punk?" The man backhanded him with his armor clad hand. Jason saw stars and fell to the ground.

"Captain, I found another one of the villagers." the man called. Jason heard the approach of a horse and looked up to see a large man atop of a large, powerful horse, or something that looked like one.

"What have you got Rad?" the Captain questioned the man who had found Jason, "Hmmm… he looks really strong, and he's good looking too. Holy shit, look at those eyes! You must be one of them freaks or something. You're lucky that you weren't born with an extra finger or something. Then we would have had to cut it off you. Your mutation, we can simply cover. Okay, we're going to have to get a pair of goggles or something. Rad, you take care of that, okay? Chain him up."

"Yes sir!" saluted Rad. The Captain galloped away and Rad roughly grabbed the weak Jason.

"Come here you brat. You are now a slave of the barbarians! Have fun kid. Since you're strong, you'll probably be put in the mines during the day and cuz you're a good-looking human, you'll definitely double as a sex slave. Boy, what an experience that'll be. You should be honored boy, especially if you become a slave for the Elite. Once you become a slave, you'll be broken in soon enough." Rad put a metal collar around Jason's neck and as soon as it clicked shut, Jason felt spikes stab into his skin from the collar. He cried out in pain and kicked Rad where it hurt. Rad grabbed his parts, howling.

"Why you little bastard. Well, I guess now's a good time as any to teach you why all slaves break down in the end." Rad pulled out some sort of device and pushed a button. Jason immediately felt an intense pain come over his heart. It felt like a hand was crushing his heart. Still, he fought, refusing to give.

"Well, well… lookie here, it seems we have a fighter here. Well, guess we should up it a notch." the pain increased but Jason still glared at the man named Rad. "Still fighting eh? We have other toys too Pretty. You just wait until you feel the ring of obedience. Now that's pain." Rad declared chuckling. As the pain continued, Jason fought and as his world was fading, he refused to cry out. He would not give in to the pain.


	4. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A/N: I'm back… for now. Sorry for the late update, but the chapter's really long. Still, it's kind of a filler chapter, but I'll get the next chapter up ASAP, promise. Hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

One Earth Year Later…

Kim Hart trailed behind her friends as they walked through the cemetery on this bright, beautiful morning. The sun was out, the sky was clear, but to Kim and her friends, the day was one of the darkest days of their lives. It had been exactly a year and they had come to commemorate it. They had come to remember what had happened exactly one year ago.

They weren't the only ones. Many lives had been lost on that fateful day. The whole world would remember this day as the worst day on Earth. Earthquakes had shaken many cities, floods had overrun many villages, fires destroyed many towns, tsunamis had drowned out many buildings, and many lives had been lost. All at the same instant.

Scientists had called it some sort of phenomenon. They said that something had been messed up in the time and space continuum and therefore all of these natural disasters had occurred at once. However, many people had initially taken it as the end of the world. There had been utter chaos across the planet as people had been doing whatever they wanted. The current and even the former rangers had had a hard time keeping the world safe from their own people.

Kim slowed down even more as they finally approached his grave. Kim felt no comfort in the fact that it was an empty grave. It only led her to thoughts of how they never found his body which led to her thinking that maybe he was still alive. Something weird had happened that day and she was going to get to the bottom of it. She had to. She couldn't go on just wondering about that thing she saw in the sky.

She watched as each of them approached the grave one by one. She stared numbly at it, completely unaware of anything else. It was just her, the empty grave, and her memories. No one else existed at this moment, but her and that empty grave. The knowledge that the grave was empty weighed heavily on Kim's shoulders.

Something fishy had gone on that day. Kim was positive that something weird had happened that day. She had seen the building crumble down on him, but she had also seen for the briefest second, something appear and disappear at the same time the building had hit him. There was no way that the building had killed him because there was no body. His disappearance had to do with the appearance of that hole, whatever it was.

"Kim," Rocky asked as he tapped her shoulder gently, "it's your turn." Kim nodded her head and slowly approached the grave. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She didn't know what to say. She refused to believe that Jason was dead, so she really didn't know how to commemorate him.

"Hey Jason," Kim paused, "I still don't know what to say to you. I haven't been here since the funeral. I'm sorry that I didn't come to your funeral. I just couldn't believe that you were dead… I still don't believe it. Something weird happened that day and I'm going to find out exactly what that was. You'll see. I know that you're still alive somewhere and I'm going to find you. I promise Jason. I swear it. I will find you… cuz if I don't, then my life will have no purpose because you were my life. I don't know how to live without you Jason and I don't really want to live without you. That's why I have to find you."

"Kim?" Kat asked, "It's time to go. You ready?" Kim nodded mutely. As she followed her friends, she took one last glance at the grave and silently vowed, '_I will find you. No matter what, I'll find you. Then, we'll be together again.'_

In a Parallel Universe On a Planet Called Eartos…

"Alpha, is the ship prepped and ready to go?" Zordon asked his robot partner and friend.

"Yes Zordon, the ship is ready and the machine is ready to transfer you onto your chamber on the ship as well. Are you ready Zordon?" The man in the tube nodded his head.

"Yes my friend, I am more than ready. I have been ready for ten years. We finally finished creating the powers, our chosen ones have been picked, and the Alliance is finally stable as well."

"Indeed sir. It will be so good to see some of the former rangers again and to meet the current ones. I truly can't wait Zordon." Alpha said gleefully.

"Yes, neither can I. Now, it is time, right? Alpha, if you would transfer me…"

"Right on it Zordon. If you would just hold still." Alpha pushed as few buttons here and there and with a flash, Zordon disappeared from his tube in the wall and reappeared in a new tube in the bridge on the ship. Then, the robot shut off the equipment and moved himself onto the ship.

"Okay, Alpha, King Zacharias has been informed of our departure and because of the need for secrecy, he decided that it was best that he and the rest of the Alliance not come. Now, if you would open a wormhole so that we may cross dimensions. We need to go retrieve our new team.

"Andros," stated Decca, the Astro Mega Ship's artificial intelligence, "there has been a disturbance in space, very near our position. It seems to be a portal of some sorts. I cannot properly identify it." Andros nodded.

"Okay Decca, I'll contact the others." Andros paused, "T.J.?"

"Yea Andros, I'm here with Cassie, Karone, Kendrix, Zhane, and Leo."

"Okay, well there's been a disturbance in space and I think that we should check it out."

"Okay, we're on-" "Can we come with you Andros?" Karone interrupted.

"Uh- I'm not so sure," "Aw come on Andros, it's not a big deal. Besides, she can take care of herself and so can the others." Zhane cut in. Andros sighed.

"All right. I'll just come there and teleport you all onto the ship."

"Cool. We'll wait for you here." With that, T.J. cut off the link. Andros then set about communicating with the rest of his team. Then, he remembered about Carlos. Carlos was on a cruise with his family to the Bahamas. He couldn't be bothered now. Besides, this couldn't be too dangerous. Andros was sure that they'd be okay without him. He set off to contact Ashley.

"Ashley, are you there?" Andros asked.

"I'm here Andros. What is it?" Ashley asked.

"There's something wrong out here and I think that we should go check it out. I'm going to pick up T.J., Cassie, and the others. Can you get here ASAP?"

"Yea, sure Andros. I'll be there in a few minutes." Ashley said and ended the communication.

Ten minutes later, everyone was gathered on the bridge of the Astro Mega Ship, staring at the screen. There was this large black hole like structure and coming from it were things that looked like lightning and all of these purple and pink swirly things. It looked like a black hole.

"Whoa, what is that thing?" Leo asked curiously, but with a hint of fear.

"I don't know, but doesn't it kind of look like the thing that led us to Mironoi?" Kendrix asked from her place next to Leo. Leo studied the screen more closely, furrowing his brow.

"You know, I think you're right." Leo replied, "But this is a lot bigger and it's darker."

"Yea. And, is that is… uh guys, is it just me or is something coming out of it?" Kendrix asked. Kendrix was right. Very gradually and slowly, an object was coming out of the black hole like structure.

"What is that thing?" Ashley asked, standing closer to Andros.

"It looks like a-a ship." Zhane said as more of the object appeared.

"Yea, it does. In fact, it actually looks like the-"

"The Phantom's ship!" Cassie interrupted Ashley. Only Cassie didn't seem to notice T.J.'s grimace and saddened look at her statement. Then, the look disappeared and he was smiling.

"Yea, it kind of does look like his ship, but this one's a lot bigger." T.J. added as the ship continued to come out of what they now presumed was a portal of some sort.

"The question is, are they good guys or is this some new enemy that we're going to have to face?" asked Karone quietly. The others silently pondered her question. By now, the black and silver ship had come out completely from the portal. The ship was similar to the Astro Mega Ship, but it was twice the size of it.

"Andros," Decca called, "the ship is hailing us. Shall we respond?" Andros looked at the others. They were all looking at him. He shrugged. There were eight rangers on this ship, how bad could it be?

"Well, we'll never know until we answer them. Go ahead Decca." Almost immediately, a very familiar face appeared on the screen.

"Zordon!" exclaimed Cassie happily. Andros

"Greetings Rangers." Zordon said to Cassie, Karone, T.J., Andros, and Ashley, "and to those of you who have not met me, greetings. My name is Zordon and this," Alpha appeared on the screen, "is my friend and helper Alpha."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." stated the robot. Then, Zhane and the others introduced themselves, their colors, and indicated their team to Zordon and Alpha.

"So Zordon, Alpha, not that it isn't great to see you here, what brings you here? We haven't seen hide nor hair of you for two years. Even Tommy and the others haven't heard from you." T.J. stated.

"Well T.J., we have something very important to tell you, and we need to ask you for your help." Zordon stated very solemnly.

"Well then, go right ahead Zordon, we're listening." Andros said quickly.

"Uh, wait a minute, should we go?" Leo asked.

"No Leo, this is for all eight of you." Zordon replied. The eight friends exchanged curious glances. What was so important that Zordon needed all eight of them for help? Zordon's face disappeared on the screen and instead a planet appeared on it. The planet was blue and green with wisps of white across it, just like Earth.

"Hey, that looks like Earth." exclaimed a puzzled T.J.

"Yea, but it's a lot smaller and take a look at its continents, it's more like one big land mass. It looks like the Pangaea theory was correct in this case." Cassie replied. The planet was indeed much smaller than Earth. It was probably half its size, and it did have one very large landmass. However, it also had its sort of Antarctica that was at the southwest end of the planet along with several other smaller landmasses around the rest of the planet. The large landmass was spread out across and along the majority of the planet.

"You're very correct rangers; this planet is similar to Earth. In fact, this is Earth in a parallel universe." Andros was stunned.

"Parallel universe?" questioned Leo, "You mean as in a sort of alternate dimension, right?"

"Indeed Leo, you are correct."

"Wow, I didn't know that alternate universes existed." Ashley exclaimed in awe.

"Actually Ashley, this is the only other known universe. However, the two are linked very critically. This planet is called Eartos. The land mass is called Lunairya. A long time ago, the continent used to be united under one kingdom, the kingdom of Light. The great Lycan family ruled over this continent and the planet prospered and grew."

"However, during the reign of King Cor the Anchor, an alien race, the barbaric Delvans landed on the planet and began a hostile takeover of the continent The Delvans are very similar to humans, they are simply more powerful, more agile, and in general, ugly. King Cor tried his best to stop them, but the planet had always been a peaceful one. Their only defense was the legendary Seraphim. He was a superhero that had superpowers and he only showed up when he was needed. No one knew his identity and he didn't appear very often. It was as though he didn't have the time to come or something."

"The king tried to fight them off, but then his queen became pregnant. He had to spend most of his time protecting her and ensuring her safety because she was pregnant, but also because she was pregnant with fraternal twins. There was a legend about the birth of twins in the royal family. If a pair of twins was ever born, then one would be destined to become the Prince of Darkness and reign in evil. The other was born destined to fight the Prince of Darkness and also become the Prince of Light. In the end, one was supposed to prevail over the other."

"Well, the Delvan king heard of this legend and he planned to kidnap the twins when they were born and then kill the Prince of Light when they figured out which one was him. The king managed to prevent the kidnapping by sending his boys to an alternate dimension, to Earth. No one knew what happened to them afterward because everyone who was involved in sending the boys was killed or killed their own selves in order to prevent themselves from spilling the secret to the Delvans. The king and the queen were killed protecting their sons and so the Lycan line was basically wiped out. The Seraphim was said to have been killed as well. No one's heard him or seen him since the Delvans came and the King died."

"Anyways, after the death of King Cor, the land was in chaos and eventually it split up into many kingdoms. The Delvans have been taking over nation by nation. However, they have been stopped lately due to the Alliance. An alliance was formed between the free nations fifty Eartos years ago and the Delvans have been unable to encroach since. They even created a truce and they formed a sort of demilitarized zone like the line separating North and South Korea. Still, the Alliance knows that the Delvans are planning something, they do have some spies."  
"Therefore, they formulated a plan. There was this ancient ritual that could possibly bring back the two princes to their home planet. The members of the Alliance studied it and they attempted to bring them back to Eartos. The members of the sacred order, a sort of magic society tried to do it, but while they were finishing up, they were attacked by the Delvans. No one knows whether or not the boys made it, but they would have been around 23 now. Since that plan failed, two Earth years ago, which equals ten years on Eartos, the Alliance called out to our dimension for help and Alpha and I received their call. We came to their planet and we decided to create a new sort of power coin. You will not be rangers, but you will be warriors. We need you to help us fight and hopefully defeat the Delvans. For if the Delvans manage to take Eartos, they may be able to learn of the portals and cross over to this dimension and take Earth."

"That's why we are here. We are asking you to be our rangers, the heroes of the suffering people of Eartos. This time, your identities will not be hidden to the Alliance, but you should not go around flaunting it. We chose you because you still have the heart of rangers and have not moved on in your lives. Also, the eight of you and the others all had the most open hearts to our powers. You each had 100 compatibility with these powers. So, we are here to ask you to help us. Will you help us?" Andros did not even need to think. He hated evil and it needed to be destroyed no matter what.

"I'm in." he declared, putting his hand out in the middle.

"Me too," chimed in Ashley and Zhane at once.

"Count me in," stated T.J., adding his hand to the circle.

"So are we." Kendrix answered for herself and Leo.

"I can't wait to start," said Karone, smiling at Zhane and then her brother.

"Um, I have a question. You said that the time is faster there, on that planet, well does that mean we'll be able to come back? I mean, people will notice that we've aged greatly compared to them. I mean, will we be able to meet the people here, in this universe?" Everyone knew who Cassie was specifically talking about. It couldn't be anyone but the Phantom Ranger. He was constantly on her mind. Andros glanced at T.J. and was shocked to find that he did not seem truly bothered by her mention of the Phantom, nor did he seem to be the slightest bit hurt. That was a change.

"Well Cassie, Alpha and I believe that once the planet is saved, the time will re-align it self to match that of Earth's. The two planets are parallels of each other after all. When the Delvans came, they disrupted the flow of time because they were not supposed to be there. We also believe that if you do return to this universe, you will be returned to the age you should be according to the time in this universe, not the age that you lived to be on the other planet. After the defeat of the Delvans, then time should flow exactly the same on both planets so that those of you who leave and those of you who stay will all age together." Zordon finished, answering her question.

"I see, kind of. Well then, you can add me in." Cassie said putting her hand in the middle.

"Very good. Now I need you to gather your necessities and then board this ship, for this is the only ship on this universe that is built to travel through the portal. Bur first, we must retrieve the others."

Jen Scotts-Collins closed the door and then threw herself onto the couch of the two bedroom apartment that she shared with her husband Wes. Jen smiled. She'd never get sick of using that word… husband. It had been one wonderful year since they had gotten married and Jen hadn't regretted one moment of it. Sure she and Wes had their fights, but they always made up in the end. Besides, what relationship didn't have its ups and downs? It wasn't healthy to not fight. Jen settled down more comfortably onto the couch when Wes walked in through the door.

"Hey honey," Jen said looking up at him, "how was your day?"

"Much better, now that you're here with me." Wes exclaimed grinning. Despite the corniness of the line, Jen smiled back, knowing that he genuinely meant what he was saying.

"Mmmm… I love you too." Jen replied and then she leaned in for a kiss. After a long moment they broke apart, their lips still touching.

"So, did you miss me?" Jen asked in a cutesy voice. Wes smiled.

"Of course I did babe. How could I not? I thought about you every minute of this day. Every moment of everyday." Jen giggled.

"Okay, what do you want?" Jen asked, "You always cake on the compliments when you want something from me. I know you too well mister." She poked him in the chest.

"Oh come on babe, don't be that way." Wes whined childishly. Jen giggled, rolling her eyes.

"Wes, Wes, Wes, what am I going to do with you?" she asked with a dramatic sigh.

"I don't know... maybe, love me for the rest of my life." Wes asked, suddenly serious.

"Always." Jen replied, looking him in the eyes. Wes grinned and then kissed her.

"So," Jen said when they pulled apart, "what do you want? Seriously." Wes sighed.

"Well, actually, it's kind of weird. You know how I still kept my time force communicator with me after we finished or retired? Well, on my way home today, it beeped. So I answered and it was a message from some guy named Zordon. I remembered his name from you. You said that in the future, he was notorious for creating the original power rangers and for guiding them and the next few teams into defeating the enemy."

Wes paused and Jen nodded at him to continue, riveted, "well, so I answered him and he told me that he needed to ask of me and you a favor. He wants to meet with us and well he said that he could send us a hologram of sorts to our old machine, you remember it right? But that means we have to go back to the, well you know, the clock tower." Jen nodded immediately.

"Is that all you wanted to ask me?" Wes nodded, "Wes! Of course I'll do it. The way you were sucking up and stuff I thought that it was something really bad or major. God! Don't scare me like that!" Jen replied, smacking him on the chest. He hung his head sheepishly.

"I guess it was kind of dumb, huh? But admit it. You love it when I butter up to you like that. You love to hear me say that you're amazing, wonderful, perfect…" Jen motioned for him to continue, tilting her head up airily and he laughed. He glanced at his watched and blinked.

"Well, come on, we have to get to the tower now. The message should be coming in about five minutes." Wes said, grabbing her arm. Jen panicked.

"Five minutes! Wes, it takes at least 15 to get there!"

"Don't worry, I'll drive my motorcycle. We'll make it in no time."

"Oh god, not the motorcycle. The things I do for you Wes. You owe me."

"I promise that I'll make it up to you babe. Now, we've got to go." With a reluctant sigh and a quick prayer to God, Jen followed her reckless husband out of their apartment.

Nearly two hours later, Wes and Jen were riding on the ship that Zordon and Alpha had arrived in. They had managed to tie off all of their loose ends, getting extended vacation times from their jobs and also telling Wes' father that they were going on vacation. Only their closest friends, the other former Time Force Rangers, had been contacted and told the truth. Wes and Jen had just met the other members of the team that Zordon and Alpha had already picked up: Zhane, Karone, Andros, Ashley, Leo, Kendrix, Cassie, and T.J. everyone was friendly and so far nobody was arguing.

"So Zordon," Wes said, staring at the man in the tube, "where to next? You said that there were six more members, who are they?

"Actually, they are three of the original ranger team members and three others who were part of the second team of rangers. Their names are Tommy Oliver, Kat Hillard, Aisha Campbell, Rocky Santos, Kim Hart, and Jason Scott." Zordon replied.

"Are you serious Zordon! We get to see Tommy and Kat again? We also get to work with them! Wow, this is so awesome!" T.J. exclaimed excitedly.

"No WAY! I actually get to work with three of the original ranger team! I feel so honored and so lucky. I can't believe that this is happening. The others will be so mad that they didn't get to come." Jen squealed happily as she jumped into her husband's arms.

"Um, Zordon, Alpha, after we get the other six, are we going to have to fill in the current ranger teams on our absence? Don't we kind of need to ask them to keep an eye on things around here? I'm sure that the Dino Thunder Rangers, the Ninja Storm Rangers, and the SPD Rangers probably want to know that a chunk of former rangers are going to be gone. We'll probably need to ask them to watch over our areas for us, right? Won't we maybe even have to call in some old friends…?" Cassie trailed off.

"You are correct Cassie. Most of the Rangers have been contacted already. The Alien rangers just recently got back to us and the Phantom Ranger has yet to reply. We hope that he will call us before we enter the portal. Otherwise, by then it will be too late." Cassie nodded solemnly.

"Zordon, we have reached the Angel Grove area. Five of the six are present; Jason is the one who is missing." Zordon nodded.

"All right then, why don't we teleport all five of them. It is unlikely and rare for Jason to not be with them, especially because of the relationship that Jason has with all of them. Something must be wrong. We must have missed a piece of information."

"Right Zordon, teleporting now." Within seconds, five young adults appeared in the center of the bridge. The minute they landed, they looked around curiously before running to hug Alpha and greet Zordon.

"Zordon! Alpha! It's great to see you again." Kat exclaimed.

"Yea, what brings you back to Angel Grove?" Tommy asked curiously.

"Wow! This is a nice ship!" Rocky said, looking around.

"Amazing! Oh Alpha, I missed you." Aisha exclaimed. Everyone noticed how one member remained silent. They also noticed how all five of them had had sad and solemn looks on their faces when they had appeared. They also took note of the tear tracks that ran down Kim's face.

"Rangers, it's great to see you again. We have missed you as well. The last we heard from you was a year and a half ago. Come now, where's Jason? He's usually with you." Zordon said. Tommy and Rocky exchanged glances, while Kat and Aisha looked at Kim. Kim merely burst into tears, shocking everyone on the ship.

"Uh… Zordon, Jason uh he that is uh…" Tommy trailed off. He couldn't say it.

"He died okay? You've spent the past year telling me that and now you can't even say it! God! What's the matter with you!" Kim exclaimed angrily, tears streaming down her face. Kat and Aisha immediately went to her.

"Oh Kim, I am so sorry for your loss. All of yours. I know that he meant a lot to you."

"Of course he did Zordon. You know full well how much we loved each other. And now he's gone. Taken away by some stupid freak earthquake." Kim sighed, "Sorry Zordon, I'm still having a hard time accepting this. I don't mean to be rude and angry. I just wish that…" Leo stepped up to her.

"It's okay Kim. I know what it feels like to lose someone very important to you. Kendrix," Leo indicated to her, "died on us for a while and I thought that I was never going to get over the pain. However, even though I didn't want to, I began to heal with time. And look at it now. By some miracle, she came back to us." Leo said, gently patting her shoulder. Kim shrugged.

"Yea, I guess. I just wish that he was still here, you know? I miss him so much."

"It will get better. I swear it. Trust me, I know." Jen said, "And who knows, you may even find someone else to love." Jen said, looking at Wes.

"No, but you don't get it. I don't want anyone else. To me, it was Jason and only Jason. I've loved him since I was little. Nothing can and ever will change that."

"I understand that. Now that I've found true love, I don't know how I'd survive or ever want to move on if I lost it. Well, don't worry I'll help you get better." Jen promised.

"We all will." Leo said. The others all nodded their consent. Zordon and Alpha smiled, watching the bonds form in the team that they had created.

Sometime later, everyone was settled down comfortably in what was called the conference room. There were sixteen chairs in the room, just enough for everyone, with one extra. The new arrivals, Kim, Tommy, Kat, Aisha, and now Rocky had just been filled in by everyone.

"Wow, so Jason was the sixteenth member of the team, huh? This sucks, Jason would have totally been up for it and he would have made such a great contribution…" Rocky trailed off.

"Wow, I've heard so many stories about the original rangers and now I've finally met two of you. Do you by any chance have any pictures of Jason? I mean, if it wouldn't be too painful to look at them." Cassie asked, looking at Kim. Kim shook her head.

"No, not at all. It hurts to see them, but it hurts even to not see his face, so I look at my pictures of him all of the time. I don't have any with me. We just went to his grave before Zordon brought us here. It's been exactly a year since his death from today." Kim stated.

"Oh, I see. I'm so sorry. This must be so painful." Ashley said sympathetically.

"Cassie, I can put up a picture of Jason on the screen, if Kim doesn't mind. It's the most recent one that I have of him, taken about a year and a half ago. Not too long after he was blinded. He's wearing his glasses in this one." Kim nodded her consent and an image flashed on the screen.

"Wow, he's hot! No wonder you fell for him." Karone exclaimed. All of the other girls nodded in agreement, while most of the guys got jealous. Kim had to admit that Jason looked really good in this picture. He was standing, leaning against a tree, his arms folded across his powerful chest, revealing his chiseled arms. His hair was messy, sticking up all over the place, and his skin was tanned. He was tall as well. The sunglasses perched on his nose gave him an air of mystery and the scar poking out from the sunglasses gave him a sense of toughness. His smile set off that toughness with the genuine tone behind it. It was all in all a great picture of him and Kim smiled sadly in memory of the day it was taken.

"Why does he wear sunglasses? How was he blinded?" Tommy, Kat, Aisha, and Rocky all looked at Kim. She shakily nodded her head at them and Tommy began.

"Well you see, a couple of years ago, when me, Kat, Aisha, Rocky, Jason, and Adam were the Zeo Rangers, we had a little problem. You see, Jason was the temporary Gold Ranger, he was holding onto the powers while Prince Trey went back to his planet to heal. Well, at that time, Kim moved back to Angel Grove after she nailed the Pan Globals. She was the only one of us without ranger powers, so we all protected her fiercely, especially Jason. He was always so worried that something might happen and Kim was worried too. She-"

"I couldn't bear it if any of the others were to get hurt because of me, especially Jason. I was positive by then that I was in love with him and I was just waiting for the right moment to tell him. Well, as time went on, Jason became sick. He was growing weaker everyday and he was always sickly pale. He even passed out one time during a battle. It freaked us all out. Zordon and Alpha ran some tests and it turned out that the Gold Ranger powers were being rejected by his body. His body wasn't made to handle the alien powers, so it was slowly killing him."

"After that, we all made him swear to not use the powers. It took us forever to persuade him, but he finally gave in. I was relieved, but not much. My fears increased and I became really scared that our enemies would find out about this and use me, the most vulnerable one of the group as bait. Well, everything was going well until one day, my worst fear came alive." Kim paused, unable to continue. Tears were streaming down her face and she excused herself from the room. Kat went on for her.

"Well, Kim, Aisha, and I were out shopping while Tommy, Adam, and Rocky were at the beach. Jason was stuck at home, resting. We didn't really let him do anything. The monsters attacked us first and because Kim didn't have the powers any longer, she couldn't hold out for long against the monsters. They got her and in order to save her life, we surrendered. They virtually blackmailed us and then the guys with the three of our lives."

"Then, they sent a message to Jason saying that we had all been caught. He was furious of course and so he came after us. The monsters, there were five of them and each one had its own little regiment of Cogs to fight for them. Each monster was basically guarding one of us, except for me. I was the first one in the line and so only a bunch Cogs were guarding me. Jason came to me and he fought the Cogs off, freeing me in the process. He was surrounded by the monsters almost immediately and I went to help him, but he told me to free the others. I listened because I was so worried that I f I didn't get him help, his powers would kill him. So I went to Adam and freed him, and then we went on to Rocky while Jason was fighting a couple of the monsters."

"By the time we got to Kim, we were struggling because two of the monsters and a bunch of Cogs were in our way. Jason was up against two monsters on his own and we could all see that his powers were taxing him and that he was weakening. He looked to see how we were doing and he saw that we were struggling too. Then, he stared at Kim for the longest moment and Kim, realizing what he was about to do, began screaming at him. Jason ignored her and did exactly what we all feared he would do."

"You see, before he left for his home planet, Prince Trey told Jason that the Gold Ranger powers had one special attack that should be used only in the most dire situation. He said that Jason would know when to use it, if the time ever came. However, if he wanted to use it, Jason had to be willing to pay the price. He had to be willing to sacrifice anything because that was the consequence of that attack. Well, Jason did just that and we all thought that he would die if he used that power, so we never wanted him to use it. He used it anyway." Kat paused as tears streamed down her face and Rocky decided to take over for her.

"Well, he said something in this weird language and he did these different formations and when he finished… you had to see it. I don't think anyone could describe it even after seeing it. There was this light that came exploding out of his helmet and his hands. He was screaming when it shot out from him. The light swept through the cavern, hitting every single monster and Cog in the place. The minute that it hit them, they would become vaporized. It all happened in an instant. When the light went out, Jason fell to the ground, blood pouring out of his nose, mouth, and the side of his head. His eyes were wide open but you should have seen them, they were so sightless and they looked burnt or something."

"We immediately took him to the command center, and there Alpha worked on him. We found out that he would be blind. Alpha and Zordon managed to get rid of most of the scars, but they couldn't get rid of the one on his face. It runs diagonally from left to right. It starts out above his eye and it ends right below his other eye. It adds a very interesting look to him. His eyes add to that effect. Even if he hadn't been blind, he would have had to wear sunglasses or something because his eyes are so unique. It's as though his powers left a mark on him. His eyes have no white area. Everything is this bright gold and then his pupils are a glowing white. Literally, they glow. If you look at them for too long, they could hurt your eyes. That's why he has to wear sunglasses, to cover up his eyes. Well, when Jason woke up, he and Kim confessed their feelings and they hooked up."

"About a year later, so exactly one year from today, Jason died. Kim and Jason were out on a date of sorts, just hanging out on the streets of Downtown Angel Grove. Well, they passed by a guitar store that was across the street. It caught Kim's eye because Jason was a musician. She wanted to get something for him. He sensed that she wanted to go into a store, so he told her to go and that he'd wait for her. So, she reluctantly and excitedly gave in. She went into the store, but before she could purchase the guitar, well there was this huge earthquake in the Angel Grove area and then everything came crumbling down."

"Hey, I heard of that. That was the crazy day on Earth that you told us about, right Andros?" Leo asked looking at the man questioningly.

"Yea, it was the craziest thing. There were so many different natural disasters all at once, it was insane. There were so many casualties, so many lives…" Andros trailed off. There was a moment of awkward silence as everyone remembered that day. No one noticed Zordon and Alpha exchange glances.

"Anyways," continued Tommy, "they were separated by a huge crack from the earthquake and Kim was worried, after all, he was blind. How was he supposed to find his way around? I mean he couldn't even see. So, they started walking and he was following her voice. Eventually, she found a spot that was small enough for her to jump over, so she did. She tried to find him, but she couldn't. When she finally did, she it was too late. There was this lamppost that crashed between them and then a building crumbled behind him. She could tell that it was going to fall on him, but it was too late. It crumbled and by the time she got there, all she found were his sunglasses." Tommy paused to let it all sink in.

"She told us later that before the building actually fell on him, she saw something that looked a lot like a portal. She said that it sucked him up the instant before the building crashed down on him. Almost immediately after the portal sucked in Jason, the crazy weather suddenly stopped. Kim thinks that this is all connected and that's why she still thinks that Jason's still alive. She refuses to accept it, but to be honest, how can he be alive? The building fell on him and she was not exactly sure whether or not he was sucked in."

"Personally, I'm not even sure if there really was a portal vortex thing. She could have thought that she saw it, but it's unlikely that she did. Anyways, we never found the body, merely traces of him like his sunglasses, but we still created a grave and a tombstone and had a funeral. It's been one year now and I think that Kim's finally starting to accept the truth. And now, here we are." Tommy finished the story, leaving the audience of former rangers in silence to soak up the information.

"Wow…there really is nothing to say to that. I'm really sorry for your loss. Jason was a great ranger and it would have been a greater honor to meet him along with the rest of you." Wes said solemnly. The other younger rangers nodded their agreement.

"Thanks for the consolations and I'm sure that he would have loved to meet all of you as well. If only he were here. He was always more than willing to help out the rangers." Kim stated, now once more calm and composed. The tearstains were gone from her face, but the sadness could still be seen.

"Actually rangers, now that you're all gathered, there is something else that we should tell you." Zordon stated in a hesitant voice. The rangers all exchanged glances.

"You mean besides why you gathered us all here?" Leo asked curiously. Kendrix smacked him in the back of the head.

"OW! What was that for?" Leo asked. Kendrix rolled her eyes.

"You're such an idiot Leo. Of course he means besides why he's gathered us. He's already told us why he's gathered us here." Leo smiled sheepishly.

"Well, you know I was just saying. Besides, you didn't have to hit me that hard. It really hurt." Leo pouted cutely. Kendrix couldn't hide her smile.

"I'm so sorry baby." Kendrix cooed as she kissed him on the lips. Leo grinned, "All better now." The other rangers laughed at their antics, even Kim, although hers was somewhat sadder. T.J. saw this and approached her. They were in similar positions and so he was going to help her get through this.

"Hey, are you okay?" T.J. asked gently. Kim looked up at him and nodded.

"Yea, I'm okay, not great, but at least I'm okay." Kim replied. T.J. smiled.

"You know Kim, I've never lost the love of my life, but I do know how it feels to love someone and not be able to have them. I know we don't know each other that well, but I could help you heal, we could help each other. I'll help you with Jason and you can help me with Cassie." T.J. blurted out.

"Cassie? What's going on with you and Cassie?" Kim asked.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. She has someone else." Kim nodded her understanding.

"Anyways, why don't we help each other out? Whenever we feel down about Jason or Cassie, we'll call each other up and help each other cheer up? How's that sound?" Kim smiled a real smile.

"That sounds great!" Kim exclaimed, "Thanks T.J." Kim hugged him.

"Not a problem" T.J. replied, returning the hug. Cassie had noticed the exchange and her eyes narrowed at them. She had seen T.J. approach Kim and it made her wonder if T.J. liked her. After all, she had never seen T.J. approach a girl, never, at least not any other girl besides Cassie herself. Kim had even smiled genuinely and now they were hugging. Her heart clenched. Something had to be going on and she had to find out.

"Zordon," Alpha stated, interrupting her thoughts, "we have just received a message from the Phantom Ranger. His ship is approaching us now." Immediately there was silence aboard the ship and all eyes turned to Cassie, but Cassie didn't notice. She pushed thoughts of T.J. and Kim to the back of her mind and glued her eyes to the screen.

"What's the message say, Alpha?" Cassie asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"He's agreed to help us and watch over the Mega Ship, but he has one request. He wants to see you Cassie, in private on his ship." Alpha replied. Cassie felt her heart leap. This was it. This was her chance to get things out in the open and to say good-bye… in more than one way.


End file.
